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Disentangling hominin and carnivore activities near a spring at FLK North (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

M. Domínguez-Rodrigo ,
A.Z.P. Mabulla ,
H.T. Bunn ,
F. Diez-Martin ,
E. Baquedano ,
D. Barboni ,
R. Barba ,
S. Domínguez-Solera ,
P. Sánchez  and
G.M. Ashley
...Show all authors
M. Domínguez-Rodrigo*
Affiliation:
IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
A.Z.P. Mabulla
Affiliation:
Archaeology Unit, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Tanzania
H.T. Bunn
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA
F. Diez-Martin
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
E. Baquedano
Affiliation:
IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain Museo Arqueológico Regional, Plaza de las Bernardas s/n, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
D. Barboni
Affiliation:
CEREGE (UMR6635 CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille), BP80, F-13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 4, France
R. Barba
Affiliation:
IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain
S. Domínguez-Solera
Affiliation:
IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain
P. Sánchez
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
G.M. Ashley
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
J. Yravedra
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain. E-mail address:manueldr@ghis.ucm.es (M. Domínguez-Rodrigo).
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Abstract

FLK North is one of the densest concentrations of fossils found in Olduvai Gorge. A recent taphonomic re-evaluation of the collection excavated by Leakey at the site suggests that it was a palimpsest in which most of the animals were accumulated and modified by carnivores. The lithic tools therefore seem to have an independent depositional history from most of the fauna. The present study, based on new excavations, expands the evidence supporting this interpretation and demonstrates a thicker deposit than was reported by Leakey, including new archaeological levels. It also shows that in the few instances where hominins butchered carcasses, meat, not marrow, was their main target. This argues against passive scavenging hypotheses, which emphasize the dietary role of marrow, and instead underscores the importance of meat in the diet of early Pleistocene hominins.

Keywords

TaphonomyPalimpsestCut marksTooth marksSkeletal part representationTramplingMeat-eating
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , November 2010 , pp. 363 - 375
Copyright
University of Washington

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